Glenbrook North remains hot,
blanks St. Ignatius
Spartans, Wolfpack look beyond 1-0 nonconference result
By Curt Herron
CHICAGO -- There are some matches during a season where there's not much at stake and sights are set on more important things down the road.
That was pretty much the story of Saturday's nonconference match between Glenbrook North and St. Ignatius at the Near West Side school’s Fornelli Field.
The visiting Spartans quickly left the field to get back to Northbrook to prepare for their Homecoming dance following their 1-0 nonconference victory. The host Wolfpack briefly discussed the day's play but clearly were more focused on the upcoming stretch of matches. They held out several top players for the contest.
Glenbrook North (11-4-2) had numerous good scoring opportunities throughout, but it wasn't able to record a ninth with multiple goals. That was denied due to a strong performance from Wolfpack senior goalkeeper Liam McConnell and his defense.
The Spartans, who've gone 8-2-1 in their last 11 matches, collected the day's lone goal in the 48th minute when senior Tomas Sabbione connected from close range following an assist from junior Sam Lappin.
Glenbrook North has gone 5-0-1 since dropping consecutive Central Suburban League South Division matches to Evanston and Maine South. Included in the recent string of successes were one-goal conference victories over rival Glenbrook South and Niles West as well as a 1-1 draw with eighth-ranked New Trier that denied the Trevians a sixth-straight league title.
"The results say that we've been playing well. We're playing well in spells, but I didn't think that we played very well today," said first-year Spartans coach Paul Gibbs, who took over the program following the successful 18-season tenure of Paul Vignocchi, who now serves as an assistant coach. "We've had a few games lately and maybe the boys were a little tired. As much as we can defend well, we have to finish teams off.
"I think we look a lot more secure behind the ball. When we lose possession farther up the field, we're a lot more organized behind the ball, and that's something that we've been working on in training."
St. Ignatius (7-4-3), which lost 1-0 at DePaul on Thursday, has a big week coming up with its Senior Night home conference match against Fenwick on Tuesday. The Wolfpack plays at IC Catholic Prep on Thursday and hosts league-leader Loyola on Tuesday to close out regular-season play.
Coach Matt Miller's Wolfpack are 1-1-2 (five points) in the Blue Division and still have a chance to capture the outright championship with 11 points if they beat Fenwick and Loyola (10 points) and the Ramblers fall to St. Laurence (seven points) on Tuesday. If Loyola earns a draw with St. Laurence, the Wolfpack could still tie for the title.
Whether that materializes or not, St. Ignatius earned the third-seed in the Class AA St. Laurence Sectional. The host Vikings hold the top-seed, Solorio is second-seeded and Back of the Yards ranks as the fourth-seed. St. Ignatius and St. Laurence played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 27 in Burbank.
The Wolfpack last won a CCL title in 2016 and their last sectional title was in 2018, when they finished third in Class AA for coach Ryan Kearns.
Meanwhile, the Glenbrook North figures to be a factor in the Class 3A Glenbrook South Sectional, where they are seeded seventh and host a regional. Teams seeded ahead of them in the sectional are top-seed New Trier followed by Evanston, Oak Park and River Forest, Niles North, Taft and Maine South. The Spartans last won a regional title in 2019, which capped a five-year run when they captured four regional championships.
Glenbrook North quickly went on the attack at the start of the second half with Sabbione sending in a liner that McConnell deflected. That set up a series of three-straight corner kicks from junior Steven Rhee. The first was deflected by a defender, the second went to junior Ian Lee whose offering was deflected, and the third went to Sabbione, whose header was hauled in by the Wolfpack keeper.
But the next time that the Spartans were on the attack, they finally connected. Lappin sent a pass into the box, and Sabbione was there to put in the short attempt in the 48th minute for the match's lone score.
The sides followed in short order with good attempts as Lappin sent a shot off a defender that was hauled in, and senior Patrick Crilley responded on the other side of the field with an attempt that was thwarted.
"We think there's some games that we wish we could have back, but we have a big week ahead with Fenwick on Tuesday and Loyola on Tuesday the week after and both are here," said Crilley, a Wolfpack captain. "Tuesday is our Senior Night so Fenwick means a lot to us. We want to make sure that we're fighting for a chance.
"I think we'll be very prepared going into the state playoffs if we get healthy. We've had the competition and the adversity to fight through, and at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what your wins and losses are in the season. We've competed against top teams, so when state comes around, we'll be there to make a run.
“I think we'll fight to the end, no matter what. If we're down 1-nil with five minutes left, we'll still be looking for a chance. I'm excited to see our state run, and I think we can be there."
Glenbrook North kept up the pressure over the next few minutes, receiving a pair of threatening tries on a header by Sabbione off another Rhee corner kick and a liner from his twin brother Vinny that was tipped over the net.
St. Ignatius looked for the equalizer in the final minutes. Senior Grant Byrd created a corner kick from junior Leonardo Diaz that went across the front of the net. In the very late going, senior Brock Richards was denied on the hosts' last good scoring chance.
"We have a great group of guys, all the way from our bench to the starters," Richards said. "I would say that our strongest point is probably our defense. We don't usually give up a goal or two a game, and we're very strong.
“Usually we go with a four-back system with two central defensive midfielders, so that's really strong. We protect the center of the pitch, and we like to play counterattack football. And with a fast winger like Oscar (Quinn Pasin) and Russell up-top, both with incredible pace, we can play the ball up and see magic happening.
"Last year we won a regional. Our team knows that we can definitely do better, and we're expecting to win our sectional and go to state. I like our willpower and strength. We act as though we're one and we stay tough as a team."
St. Ignatius didn't start several regulars, including seniors Russell Robertson and David Jacobo and juniors Quinn Pasin and Colin Chough. Instead seniors Jordan Atoubi and Alexis Pallares came up from the junior varsity and started the match.
Both sides had plenty of good chances during the opening 40 minutes with some of the best for the Spartans offered up by seniors Darian Durakovic and Vinny Sabbione and juniors Ben Melnick, Rhee and Lee which were pulled in by McConnell.
Meanwhile Glenbrook North senior goalkeeper Max Bachenheimer hauled in several shots, which included those sent in by Atoubi, juniors Dawson Kraft and Diaz, and sophomore Roman Marsh. Earning starts on defense for the Spartans were Ethan Klinghofer, Tal Yedlin, Ben Melnik and Chase Petersen.
St. Ignatius has its eyes on the prizes.
"I think if we can get healthy by next week and pick our energy up a little bit, we definitely still have a chance of winning the CCL," said junior Bryce Lynch, another Wolfpack captain. "It's definitely good to have good tests like this playing against good technical teams, especially going into the playoffs. If we can toughen up and be more aggressive going into the playoffs, that will help us out a lot.
"We definitely have the talent to go all the way this year. We just have to make sure that we're finishing and going all the way through. We need to pick up our energy, because we've been a little complacent in the past couple of games.
“I definitely like our speed and athleticism. We were missing a couple of our key players. Playing it over the top to Oscar and Russell, they can get on the ball and get a lot of opportunities."
Glenbrook North closes out its schedule with four nonconference matches, which includes two against teams ranked in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Spartans play at Vernon Hills on Thursday and host no. 18 Hinsdale Central on Saturday. On Oct. 11 they host no. 12 Grayslake Central and two days later they close out their regular-season with a home match against Amundsen.
Starting lineups
Glenbrook North
GK: Max Bachenheimer
D: Ethan Klinghofer
D: Tal Yedlin
D: Ben Melnick
D: Chase Petersen
MF: Yianny Caparos
MF: Chris Sanchez
MF: Steven Rhee
MF: Sam Lappin
MF: Ian Lee
F: Vinny Sabbione
St. Ignatius
GK: Liam McConnell
D: Lucas Hanna
D: Leonardo Diaz
D: Bryce Lynch
D: Enzo Santillan
MF: Roman Marsh
MF: Alex Pallares
MF: Carter Harris
MF: Nathan Schneider
F: Dawson Kraft
F: Jordan Atoubi
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Tomas Sabbione, sr., MF, Glenbrook North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Glenbrook North: Tomas Sabbione (Sam Lappin), 48'
blanks St. Ignatius
Spartans, Wolfpack look beyond 1-0 nonconference result
By Curt Herron
CHICAGO -- There are some matches during a season where there's not much at stake and sights are set on more important things down the road.
That was pretty much the story of Saturday's nonconference match between Glenbrook North and St. Ignatius at the Near West Side school’s Fornelli Field.
The visiting Spartans quickly left the field to get back to Northbrook to prepare for their Homecoming dance following their 1-0 nonconference victory. The host Wolfpack briefly discussed the day's play but clearly were more focused on the upcoming stretch of matches. They held out several top players for the contest.
Glenbrook North (11-4-2) had numerous good scoring opportunities throughout, but it wasn't able to record a ninth with multiple goals. That was denied due to a strong performance from Wolfpack senior goalkeeper Liam McConnell and his defense.
The Spartans, who've gone 8-2-1 in their last 11 matches, collected the day's lone goal in the 48th minute when senior Tomas Sabbione connected from close range following an assist from junior Sam Lappin.
Glenbrook North has gone 5-0-1 since dropping consecutive Central Suburban League South Division matches to Evanston and Maine South. Included in the recent string of successes were one-goal conference victories over rival Glenbrook South and Niles West as well as a 1-1 draw with eighth-ranked New Trier that denied the Trevians a sixth-straight league title.
"The results say that we've been playing well. We're playing well in spells, but I didn't think that we played very well today," said first-year Spartans coach Paul Gibbs, who took over the program following the successful 18-season tenure of Paul Vignocchi, who now serves as an assistant coach. "We've had a few games lately and maybe the boys were a little tired. As much as we can defend well, we have to finish teams off.
"I think we look a lot more secure behind the ball. When we lose possession farther up the field, we're a lot more organized behind the ball, and that's something that we've been working on in training."
St. Ignatius (7-4-3), which lost 1-0 at DePaul on Thursday, has a big week coming up with its Senior Night home conference match against Fenwick on Tuesday. The Wolfpack plays at IC Catholic Prep on Thursday and hosts league-leader Loyola on Tuesday to close out regular-season play.
Coach Matt Miller's Wolfpack are 1-1-2 (five points) in the Blue Division and still have a chance to capture the outright championship with 11 points if they beat Fenwick and Loyola (10 points) and the Ramblers fall to St. Laurence (seven points) on Tuesday. If Loyola earns a draw with St. Laurence, the Wolfpack could still tie for the title.
Whether that materializes or not, St. Ignatius earned the third-seed in the Class AA St. Laurence Sectional. The host Vikings hold the top-seed, Solorio is second-seeded and Back of the Yards ranks as the fourth-seed. St. Ignatius and St. Laurence played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 27 in Burbank.
The Wolfpack last won a CCL title in 2016 and their last sectional title was in 2018, when they finished third in Class AA for coach Ryan Kearns.
Meanwhile, the Glenbrook North figures to be a factor in the Class 3A Glenbrook South Sectional, where they are seeded seventh and host a regional. Teams seeded ahead of them in the sectional are top-seed New Trier followed by Evanston, Oak Park and River Forest, Niles North, Taft and Maine South. The Spartans last won a regional title in 2019, which capped a five-year run when they captured four regional championships.
Glenbrook North quickly went on the attack at the start of the second half with Sabbione sending in a liner that McConnell deflected. That set up a series of three-straight corner kicks from junior Steven Rhee. The first was deflected by a defender, the second went to junior Ian Lee whose offering was deflected, and the third went to Sabbione, whose header was hauled in by the Wolfpack keeper.
But the next time that the Spartans were on the attack, they finally connected. Lappin sent a pass into the box, and Sabbione was there to put in the short attempt in the 48th minute for the match's lone score.
The sides followed in short order with good attempts as Lappin sent a shot off a defender that was hauled in, and senior Patrick Crilley responded on the other side of the field with an attempt that was thwarted.
"We think there's some games that we wish we could have back, but we have a big week ahead with Fenwick on Tuesday and Loyola on Tuesday the week after and both are here," said Crilley, a Wolfpack captain. "Tuesday is our Senior Night so Fenwick means a lot to us. We want to make sure that we're fighting for a chance.
"I think we'll be very prepared going into the state playoffs if we get healthy. We've had the competition and the adversity to fight through, and at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what your wins and losses are in the season. We've competed against top teams, so when state comes around, we'll be there to make a run.
“I think we'll fight to the end, no matter what. If we're down 1-nil with five minutes left, we'll still be looking for a chance. I'm excited to see our state run, and I think we can be there."
Glenbrook North kept up the pressure over the next few minutes, receiving a pair of threatening tries on a header by Sabbione off another Rhee corner kick and a liner from his twin brother Vinny that was tipped over the net.
St. Ignatius looked for the equalizer in the final minutes. Senior Grant Byrd created a corner kick from junior Leonardo Diaz that went across the front of the net. In the very late going, senior Brock Richards was denied on the hosts' last good scoring chance.
"We have a great group of guys, all the way from our bench to the starters," Richards said. "I would say that our strongest point is probably our defense. We don't usually give up a goal or two a game, and we're very strong.
“Usually we go with a four-back system with two central defensive midfielders, so that's really strong. We protect the center of the pitch, and we like to play counterattack football. And with a fast winger like Oscar (Quinn Pasin) and Russell up-top, both with incredible pace, we can play the ball up and see magic happening.
"Last year we won a regional. Our team knows that we can definitely do better, and we're expecting to win our sectional and go to state. I like our willpower and strength. We act as though we're one and we stay tough as a team."
St. Ignatius didn't start several regulars, including seniors Russell Robertson and David Jacobo and juniors Quinn Pasin and Colin Chough. Instead seniors Jordan Atoubi and Alexis Pallares came up from the junior varsity and started the match.
Both sides had plenty of good chances during the opening 40 minutes with some of the best for the Spartans offered up by seniors Darian Durakovic and Vinny Sabbione and juniors Ben Melnick, Rhee and Lee which were pulled in by McConnell.
Meanwhile Glenbrook North senior goalkeeper Max Bachenheimer hauled in several shots, which included those sent in by Atoubi, juniors Dawson Kraft and Diaz, and sophomore Roman Marsh. Earning starts on defense for the Spartans were Ethan Klinghofer, Tal Yedlin, Ben Melnik and Chase Petersen.
St. Ignatius has its eyes on the prizes.
"I think if we can get healthy by next week and pick our energy up a little bit, we definitely still have a chance of winning the CCL," said junior Bryce Lynch, another Wolfpack captain. "It's definitely good to have good tests like this playing against good technical teams, especially going into the playoffs. If we can toughen up and be more aggressive going into the playoffs, that will help us out a lot.
"We definitely have the talent to go all the way this year. We just have to make sure that we're finishing and going all the way through. We need to pick up our energy, because we've been a little complacent in the past couple of games.
“I definitely like our speed and athleticism. We were missing a couple of our key players. Playing it over the top to Oscar and Russell, they can get on the ball and get a lot of opportunities."
Glenbrook North closes out its schedule with four nonconference matches, which includes two against teams ranked in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Spartans play at Vernon Hills on Thursday and host no. 18 Hinsdale Central on Saturday. On Oct. 11 they host no. 12 Grayslake Central and two days later they close out their regular-season with a home match against Amundsen.
Starting lineups
Glenbrook North
GK: Max Bachenheimer
D: Ethan Klinghofer
D: Tal Yedlin
D: Ben Melnick
D: Chase Petersen
MF: Yianny Caparos
MF: Chris Sanchez
MF: Steven Rhee
MF: Sam Lappin
MF: Ian Lee
F: Vinny Sabbione
St. Ignatius
GK: Liam McConnell
D: Lucas Hanna
D: Leonardo Diaz
D: Bryce Lynch
D: Enzo Santillan
MF: Roman Marsh
MF: Alex Pallares
MF: Carter Harris
MF: Nathan Schneider
F: Dawson Kraft
F: Jordan Atoubi
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Tomas Sabbione, sr., MF, Glenbrook North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Glenbrook North: Tomas Sabbione (Sam Lappin), 48'